$82,253 raised so far! That's 33% of the way to our goal!

(Remember: at $100,000 we receive a $25,000 matching grant from the Saquish Foundation!)
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June 2016
Dear Friends of Shoals Marine Laboratory,
 
The 50th season of Shoals Marine Laboratory is off to an amazing start. Field Ornithology, Field Marine Invertebrate Biology, and Field Oceanography opened the labs and made excellent use early season bird migration and plankton blooms. Now, Sustainable Fisheries, Marine Mammal Biology, and Marine Environmental Science & Conservation are all in full swing, and the weather has been wonderful! Celia Thaxter's garden is planted, undergraduate interns are filling data sheets, and the Tern Program is actively following the nesting of all three tern species over on Seavey Island. I t is summer on Appledore! 
 
Earlier this month, we had our first rock talk by Kevin Jerram, who kicked off our series of ten speakers throughout the summer. Kevin first came to SML as a UNH undergraduate in the Sustainable Engineering Internship program. He has returned every year since 2007 to work as an island engineer or volunteer. In-between his Shoals time, he earned a Master's degree in Ocean Engineering from UNH and now travels the world mapping the ocean floor. His talk captivated the entire SML community with tales from the Arctic to Guam. He is on the cutting edge of marine scientific exploration -- seeing things in the deep ocean, in remote locations that very few have the opportunity to witness. He brought footage of never before seen marine life and discussed the impacts of climate change on arctic sea ice. Wow, he impressed us all! AND he shared with the audience that his undergraduate experience at SML was the start of his career path, providing the passion and skills to navigate his future. What a testimony to the power of this place to shape careers and personal passions! 

  Summer 2016 Intern Blogs 
Photo by S. MacLean
With 7 separate internship programs on Appledore Island this summer, the spirit of research and discovery is in full bloom! Several of our undergraduate interns are sharing their experiences using online blogs that are open to the public! Want to know what it's like living on Appledore Island for 10 consecutive weeks? Follow these SML interns as they conduct research in collaboration with peers and mentors from across the country, and even the world!
 
Gull Population Biology Interns, Mary Everett and Taylor Ouellette, are blogging about their work with black-backed are herring gulls under the mentorship of Drs. Julie Ellis, Sarah Courchesne, and Bill Clark. Click to read The Gulls of Appledore Blog!
Photo by S. Samorodnitsky

NEW! SML's Ecological Genomic Internship is up-and-running! Intern, Sarah Samorodnitsky and her mentor Dr. David Plachetzki have an ambitious plan to sequence the genomes of key invertebrates around Appledore Island's intertidal zone and surrounding nearshore waters. Follow their work on the Ecological Genomics Internship Blog.
 

To read blogs from past SML Interns, please click here to visit our student blogs archive. 

 Welcoming New Faculty!
We are so excited to welcome Dr. Laura Smith-Jordan to our teaching staff, starting at the end of this month! Dr. Smith-Jordan began her career in marine biology right here at Shoals Marine Laboratory, as a Cornell undergraduate. She later returned to SML as a Teaching Assistant for Field Marine Science and Underwater Research courses. Her studies brought her to Southern California where she received her Ph.D. at UCLA studying stingray sensory biology. She completed postdocs on both the east and west coasts, focusing mainly on shark sensory systems and fisheries bycatch reduction of elasmobranchs (sharks, skates & rays), with additional projects ranging from from penguin flipper morphology to dolphin hydrodynamics. Recently, she has focused on science education in both formal (university-level, primarily at UCLA) and also informal settings.  She is thrilled to return to SML, the place that initiated her love of marine labs and introduced her to the wonderful community of scientists that congregate at these special places, to teach students about her favorite group of animals! 
 
Dr. Smith-Jordan will teach two of our high school courses this summer:
  • Marine Environmental Science (Section 1)
  • Introduction to the Biology of Sharks, Skates, and Rays
Speaking of high school courses:
There are still SEATS AVAILABLE in Marine Environmental Science (Section 2), July 11-25 , with Mr. Mark Johnson. Open to high school students who have completed at least one high school biology course.

 
Register Now: Public Programs at SML
Our 50th year is the perfect reason to sign-up for public programs and get back to Appledore! Throughout the summer, join a Garden Tour or Appledore Walking Tour for an easy day-trip between New Castle, NH and the Isles of Shoals. Then, in August and September, you may opt for an extended stay during one of our Adult and Family Programs. We'd love to see you on the island!
Garden & R/V Kingsbury
Garden Tours are filling!
While our tours in June and July are nearly full, we have seats available on our later tours: August 6th and August 13th. Our garden caretakers have made sure to carefully time and stagger planting so that the garden will be in full bloom for all tours this summer. Gourmet lunch prepared by SML's fabulous chefs is included on all Garden Tours. 

Foodies Rejoice!
Take a Bite out of Appledore: An Eco-culinary Island Retreat is returning to SML September 9-11, 2016. With James Beard nominated Chefs, Sam Hayward and Evan Mallett, this retreat is perfect for foodies and scientists alike. Forage across the island learning about edible plants, algae, and invertebrates. Cast a net into the Gulf of Maine with local fishermen. Your taste buds will thank you!

In closing
Recently, I witnessed one of those special, glorious days at SML -- the sun shining bright and the entire island bustling with excited discovery and learning! A group of undergraduates went on their very first oceanography cruise that day, and they came back beaming about all they had learned from taking soil samples at sea! In true SML fashion, they passed the mud along to the Marine Invertebrate class who spend the evening finding all kinds of animals in the sea floor sediment! The Invertebrates students were thrilled with the 'gift' as they were in a hot competition with the Field Ornithology class for the most individual species observed during their course (invertebrates vs. birds). Seeing the level of fun these students have while they study tons of new material is thrilling! I know we are engaging the students here at the Shoals Marine Laboratory; successfully training, and importantly, inspiring a new generation of scientists. Thank you for helping us make this possible! We rely on the entire Shoals community (including YOU) to keep that magic alive -- from Ph.D. faculty who teach our students, to donors whose support keeps these innovative and engaging programs going.

With deep appreciation and warm wishes,

Jennifer Seavey, Ph.D.
Kingsbury Director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory
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